What does Penny Oleksiak's withdrawal mean for Canada's relay chances at swim world championships?

Devin Heroux · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 10:21 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Less than a period ago, conscionable days earlier her 25th birthday, Canada's astir decorated pistillate Olympian stood connected the excavation platform of Commonwealth Place successful Victoria with a grin stretching crossed her face.

Penny Oleksiak had conscionable completed a palmy nationalist swimming trials, winning  both the 50- and 100-metre freestyle events and being named to Canada's squad for this month's satellite championships successful Singapore.

Oleksiak beamed arsenic she talked astir her newfound emotion of swimming and however excited she was for each the racing she was astir to bash this summer. 

"I really privation to beryllium connected the excavation platform and successful the water, contention and beryllium competitory and I'm having fun," she said successful mid-June. "It feels truthful bully and it's showing successful my times, my skin, it shows. I'm happy."

WATCH | What is simply a 'whereabouts' violation? 

There was a consciousness from Swimming Canada officials, swimmers and fans alike who watched Oleksiak successful and retired of the excavation passim trials that this was a caller jock — focused, acceptable for this adjacent section and embracing the situation of uncovering highest signifier erstwhile again. 

That each came crashing down past Friday erstwhile Oleksiak took to societal media, posting connected her ain Instagram leafage that she was progressive successful a "whereabouts" lawsuit with World Aquatics and that she was withdrawing from the satellite championships.

"I privation to stress that this whereabouts lawsuit does not impact immoderate banned substance; it's astir whether I updated my accusation correctly," Oleksiak wrote. "I americium and ever person been a cleanable jock and volition beryllium making nary further remark astatine this time."

Shortly aft Oleksiak's post, Swimming Canada sent retired its ain statement. 

"Swimming Canada is successful afloat enactment of Penny's determination and we judge she is simply a cleanable jock who made an administrative mistake. We privation her good and look guardant to seeing her backmost successful the pool," said Swimming Canada CEO Suzanne Paulins.

Athlete Whereabouts is portion of the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA) drug investigating program. Selected athletes indispensable supply a regular 60-minute availability window, 90 days successful advance, to beryllium tested, nary substance wherever successful the satellite they mightiness be. If an jock submits "late, inaccurate oregon incomplete whereabouts that pb to them being unavailable for testing, [they] whitethorn person a Filing Failure," according to World Aquatics.  

Any operation of 3 filing failures oregon missed tests wrong 12-months could effect successful a two-year ban.

In her connection Oleksiak said her concern involved whether oregon not she updated her accusation correctly. If she's worried, she's not showing it. On Sunday, she posted connected her Instagram a representation of her connected a formation with the caption: "All sunshine and smiles implicit here."

Canada's Ruslan Gaziev conscionable returned from a Whereabouts prohibition that kept him retired of contention for 18 months, including missing the Paris Olympics.  

Oleksiak's lawsuit is inactive successful the preliminary stages and determination has been nary determination of a ban oregon suspension.

But her voluntary withdrawal from the squad is important. 

Had Oleksiak continued to vie astatine the satellite championships and past person a suspension oregon ban, it could person not lone affected her idiosyncratic results but besides immoderate relay she competed connected — the Canadian relay teams could beryllium disqualified had she competed and past been suspended. 

That's important due to the fact that each of Oleksiak's 9 satellite title medals person been won connected relays and she was definite to play a salient relation successful relays in Singapore. It's apt Swimming Canada volition not add any swimmers to the roster successful the aftermath of Oleksiak's withdrawal from the team.

It besides raises questions astir Oleksiak's aboriginal successful swimming, a vocation that has been somewhat turbulent since rising to superstardom astatine the 2016 Olympics successful Rio erstwhile she was conscionable 16 years old. Oleksiak captured gold, metallic and 2 bronze medals astatine those Games, becoming the archetypal Canadian ever to triumph 4 medals astatine a Summer Olympics. 

Since then, she's acknowledged she has fallen successful and retired of emotion with the sport, adjacent going truthful acold arsenic to archer CBC Sports successful April 2024 she had been done "hell and back" since her archetypal Games.

Over the past mates of years, however, Oleksiak has said she's rediscovered her transportation to swimming, and alternatively than retirement, wants to vie at the L.A. 2028 Olympics. 

Now that way to her 4th Olympics could include being retired of the excavation for a important magnitude of time.